Exam Info And Course Content

The AP Chemistry exam consists of 2 sections. The first one is a multiple choice section with 60 questions that lasts 90 minutes and makes up 50% of your final exam score.

The second section is free response. It has 7 questions, lasts 105 minutes, and makes up 50% of your final exam score. There are 3 long and 4 short free response questions and they make sure you understand experimental design, understand quantitative or qualitative transformations, can analyze lab data, analyze molecular or atomic views, and follow a logical pathway to solve a problem.

College Board provides free example test questions, so click here if you want to check them out. And be sure to read our reviews of the best ap chemistry books.

Next Exam Date

Monday, May 7th, 2018

Last Time The Exam Changed

The AP Chemistry exam was last audited in 2013, so if you have a book published later than that, it should adhere to the new standards. However we recommend that you buy one of the books below to increase your chances of getting a 5.

In order to get a fundamental understanding of the core principles you will be tested on, there is no better AP Chemistry Textbook than Chemistry, 10th Edition by Steven Zumdahl, Susan Zumdahl and Donald J. DeCoste. It takes our #1 pick as the best AP Chemistry textbook.

This textbook is an extremely readable and detailed text that contains both the fundamental framework of chemistry as well as a multitude of practice questions to ensure you understand the concerns. It is widely regarded as the #1 AP Chemistry textbook on the market, and is taught in thousands of schools across north America.

Before you look at any review or exam prep books, be sure you have a copy of Chemistry, 10th Edition.

Princeton’s AP Chemistry review book is also a great option as its content is organized as Big Ideas which is how the exam questions are created.

We recently picked up the latest edition and definitely recommend it over last year’s edition. They corrected a number of mistakes that were pointed in out by the college board forums and other online reviews. That’s why we’ve chosen it as our best AP Chemistry review book.

The practice questions also reflect the new test format, and the book has 2 practice tests which is important because the Crash Course book only has one.

If you purchase both books and go through them cover to cover, you’re guaranteed to get a 5.

It is one of the only AP chemistry review books out there that has no errors in it and covers the new material properly. In fact it only covers the information that you need to know for the exam, so you don’t have to worry about figuring out what you need to know. If it’s in the book, you need to understand and know it.

They also give you test-taking strategies specifically for the AP Bio exam which tremendously helps most students. That’s why we’ve picked it as the best AP chemistry prep book.

After going through the book you can take a free online practice exam that has very in depth explanations of answers, and it will even automatically analyze your score to help you figure out if you need to study more or not.

At the beginning of the last month you should take the crash course practice test and see what you still need to learn. Use the crash course book to brush up on the topics you’re foggy on, and take as many practice tests as you can.

You can also look over the labs found on this site to make sure that you understand them.